Irulan is NOT AWESOME

There are a lot of writers today (mostly female, but not all) who think that a "strong" female character has to be this sort of angst-ridden thing with an attitude and a smart comeback for every response. Very few authors can pull that off, and I've started avoiding authors who trot out these characters in the opening pages of their novels altogether.

I also tend to roll my eyes when I ask someone what they like about a book or a show and they tell me "Oh, I always identify with a strong female character."

Now, before the knee-jerk reaction causes anyone to bruise their shins, take a look at my fiction. It always, without fail, contains female characters in lead roles, and those women either start out or become intelligent, witty, independent, educated people who can in most cases handle themselves just as well as the men in a fight, if not better.

So what am I rolling my eyes at? Essentially, it's this:

The phrase has become one of those things like "cool" which is so overused that nobody really knows what it means anymore. Any time there is a female protagonist--especially one who claims not to want to get married when cultural rules dictate that she should--the character is automatically placed in this class of sacroscant femininity, and to say that one does not find the character appealing becomes like saying that one prefers to eat babies. Very little critical analysis goes into figuring out exactly who this character is and why she acts the way she does. She's female. She can shoot. She has a chip on her shoulder, especially about guys. What else needs to be said?

This is my list of awesome female characters from books, film, and television. The list is not exhaustive. Some of them are rather obvious choices, others you may not be expecting. They aren't always the good guys and they aren't always likeable. They're just AWESOME. Characters who have minor roles and display no personality in their canon appearances but are developed in fanfiction don't count. They're pretty much in whatever order I thought of them because if I sat here and tried to list them in order of awesomeness, I'd go insane. Opinions are welcome, as are suggestions. Flaming is not, thank you. (There will also be a list of awesome male characters, as I happen to think there are plenty of those out there as well, and I'm not a sexist.)

( Pilgrim, it's a long road... )

Anakin is NOT AWESOME

Vader, however, is VERY AWESOME. No long introduction this time. Just the list. It's a counterpart to my list of awesome female characters.

( Pilgrim... )

Um...? Why is this list so short?? Most of them are TV characters, superheroes, or figures from legend. I know I've read more books with male characters I like.

Why I love Steve Riley in 100 questions or less

Okay, Steve's interview format is a little different.

One, there are more questions. I made some up since I wanted things that focused more on the family dynamics and his views of parenting, then I found some really interesting complex ones that he hated online. I'll have to go back and ask Gurad those later.

The problem with Steve is that he doesn't like to talk about himself. Like at ALL. So, in order to get him to cooperate, cha_aka volunteered to have one of her characters do the interviewing. Steve and Calvin have a unique relationship that would take far too long to explain.

( Why I love Steve Riley in 100 questions or less )